Combined fanning-mill and seed-cleaner



(No Model.)

N. M, BOWEN. Y GMBINED FANNING MILL AND SEED GLBNER. No. zeoe.A

Patented Ap138, 1884.

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i Unirse Sra'rns @Amants @arrest NEWTON -M. BOVEN, OF KNIGHTSTOWF, INDIANA.

COM BINED FANNINGFMILL AND SEED-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION formingy part of Letters Patent No. 296,309, dated April 8, 1884.

Application tiled November 10, 1883. (No model.)

Be it known that I, NEWTON M. BOWEN, of the town of Knightstown, county of Henry, and State of Indiana, have invented certain .new and useful Improvements in a Combined Fanning-iliiil and Seed-Cleaner, of which the following is a correct specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a tanning-mill and seed-cleaner combined with the necessary mechanism for more effectuallyseparating` mixed seedand grain and freeing the same from all foreign substances than can be effec-ted by any of the tanning-mills and seed-cleaners now in use. I accomplish these objects by means of the devices described in the folowing'specication.

By reference to the accompanying drawings, led herewith and Imade a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference relate to similar parts of my invention, Figure l is a longitudinal` vertical section of my device, showing a tanning-mill with my improvements applied. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section of my device on the line c rv of Fig. 1,

-witli the wings of the fan broken off in order to show those parts of my invention which would be seen if looking from the front of the miil.

In Fig. l, Ac is an air-chamber formed by mill between the air-chambers A02 and the.

top shoe, Ts. Said shutters, bein g hinged to a vrod provided'with a handle, h, can be opened or' closed by moving the handle np or down, and the current of air from the fan shut od, if desired, or permitted to pass through the top shoe, Ts, at will.

Re is a slotted riddle-shoe, extending from the throat of my hopper H to the top of the hopper H to the said riddles.

riddles Rt', for conducting the gra-in from the The bottom of this shoe Rs is made ofa series of slats, which are pivoted at each end to the frame, which forms the sides of said shoe Rs, and hinged to a rod or wire, if, and can be opened or closed at will, just as the slats of an ordinary window-shutter are opened and closed. It will be readily seen that when these slats are closed the bottom of my riddle-shoe Rs presents a smooth surface, over which the grain moves in its transit from the hopper H to the riddles Re', and when opened, as shown in drawings, form apertures in the bottom of my riddlevshoe through which the current of air from the fan-Fa passes, the advantages of which are hereinafter set forth. This shoe Rs, thus constructed, -I call a Lslotted riddle-shoe, in order to distinguish it from the top and bottom shoes, Ts and Bs, when referring to it in this specilication.

Ft', Fig. 1, represents whippers fixed upon a shaft, f' b, pivoted to the frame oi' the mill, and provided with shakers attached to the 4frame of the top shoe, Ts. The motion of the l top shoe causes the whippers to move up and down and toss the straw and chaff violent-ly, 'shaking all the grain out, permitting it to fall on the riddles comparatively free from chaff and straw. i

Bs is the bottom shoe of my tanning-mill, in which is placed four riddles, Dr, of any desired neness, which are made to discharge neat-h the bottom shoe, Bs.

Cw is a crank-wheel, attached to the shaft I upon which the fan Fa is fastened. This wheel,v being connected with the crank-lever, mounted on rod ro, by means of connecting-rod Gr?, imparts a reciprocating motion to the equalizing-lever eZ, rigidly attached to said rod. (See also Fig. 2.) This lever el, being attached to the top shoe, Ts, by means of the connecting-rod bi, and to the bottom shoe by the connecting-rod b5, carries these shoes back and forth with every revolution of the crank- 'wheel Cw.

I prefer to attach the devices for shaking my riddles to the center of the shoes, as shown in Fig. 2; but it will be readily seen that the same result may be accomplished by attaching the said devices for shaking my shoes Bs and Ts to the top of the top shoe and the bot-4 tom of the bottom shoe, as seen by the dotted lines in Figs. l and 2, (marked c 'and 1Q) actuated by cranlr-wheel Cw through the connecting-rods Gr and Cr.

IOO

The method of operating my device is as follows: The hopper being filled with wheat containing much chaff and straw, I close the damper D and open the shutters sh, and also the slots of the slotted riddle-shoe Rs, thus forcing the entire volume of air from the Afan through the top shoe, Ts. By closing the shutters sh and the damper D and leaving the slots of the slotted riddle-shoe Rs open the current of air passes through the slotted riddle-shoe and thence over the riddles, thereby materially increasing the feed of the chaff and grain. This is especially valuable in vvinnowing clover-seed or any grain containing much chaff and straw, which has a tendency to choke the throat of all mills not provided with my device.

To prevent the straw and heads of wheat 'from Vchoking up the riddles, I provide the whipper's Fi, which, being firmly attached to the barfb, pivoted to the frame of the mill,

as above described, tosses the straw and chaff up, which, being caught by the wind from the fan, is carried over the riddles, out ofthe mouth of the mill, without coming in contact with the riddles. I

' To prevent the straw and chaff from choking thethroat of the hopper, I close the shutters Sh'and the damper D, leaving the slots of the riddle-shoe open, the air from the fan Fa, in passing through the riddleshoe, carries the straw and cha'ff away from the mouthof the hopper, thus'clearing the throat of the hopper from those obstructions which in all ordi nary fanning-mills retard the operation of the mill. To more effectually accomplish this purpose, the feed-fingers Sr are attached to the riddle-shoe, and, moving withl the top shoe, Ts, carry the chaff and straw forward withI the forward motion of the shoe,while the wind from the fan preventsthe'said straw and chaff from returning with the feed-lingers. This operation, being repeated at every revolution o'f the crank-wheel Cw, rendersit impossible for the throat of the hopper to become choked. Should the wheat contain much cheat, I close the shutters Shy and the slotted riddle-shoe Rs and open the damper D, thus transferring the current of air through the air-chamber Ac', as indicated .by the dotted arro\vs, t`o the lower shoe, Bs. Said current of air, impinging against the inclined surface of the lower riddles, Dr, meets the descending grain as it falls from the top shoe onto the riddle of the lower shoe, and

.since the cheat, timothy-seed, and cockle are lighter than the grains of wheat, they are car ried bythe force of the wind far up on the riddle, and, falling on the screens, are sifted through in their respective drawers, as indicated by the drawings, Fig. l.

The advantages I gain by employing my device are, first, by means ofthe whippers Fi, feed-ngers Sr, and slotted riddle-shoe Rs, in combination with the current of air from the fan Fa, any grain or clover-seed, no matter how much chaff it may contain, passes freely through the throat of my hopper into the top shoe,Ts, when the straw and chaff are separated from the grain and blown out of the mouth of the millwithout touching the riddles and thus choking them up, as is usual in all ordinary fan-mills; second, with my crankwheel Cw, connecting-rod Cr, crank-lever Cl, rod ro, and its equaliZing-lever el, connected with thetop and bottom shoes, Ts and Bs, I produce a rapid, smooth, and regular sifting motion for the shoes, which, combined with the current of air from the air-chamber Ac, thoroughly separates the various seeds and grains that may be mingled with the wheat, depositing each in a receptacle to itself perfectly free from all grain or foreign substance that may vary from it either in size, shape, or weight. Thus I can convert what is usually termed seconds77 into good merchantable wheat weighing sixty pounds to the bushel, a feat which has never been accomplished by any mill heretofore invented.

Having thus fully described my invention, its purposes, and advantages, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. In a fanningmill and seed-cleaner combined, the air-chamber Ac', formed by thepartition p and the wall p', and provided with damper D, in combination with drum A02, shutters sh, fan Fa, top shoe, Ts, and bottom shoe, Bs, substantially in the manner and for IOO 

